Elon Musk arrives in Tel Aviv amid anti-semitism accusations
After being accused of anti-Semitism, an expert in aircraft tracking reported the arrival of billionaire Elon Musk in Tel Aviv today, marking the beginning of a visit during which Israeli leaders intend to draw attention to the plight of hostages held in Gaza and discuss the escalation of anti-Semitism online.
Avi Sharf, an aviation expert at the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, stated via Musk‘s social media platform, X, that the billionaire, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, landed in the morning, according to Reuters.
The Herzog office announced the meeting yesterday evening, stating, “During their meeting, the President will emphasize the need to combat the increasing anti-Semitism on the Internet.”
This visit comes at a time when civil rights groups accuse Musk of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his social media platform.
Musk‘s visit coincides with a 4-day ceasefire in the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza, during which Israel claims to have released 40 out of 240 prisoners held by Hamas.
Israeli TV Channel 12 earlier reported that Musk would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s office has not yet commented on this.
On November 15, Musk endorsed a post on X claiming that Jews are inflaming hatred against whites. He said the user who referred to the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory was stating “the factual truth.”
The White House condemned what it called the “vicious promotion of racist hatred and anti-Semitism” that “conflicts with our core values as Americans.” Major US companies temporarily suspended their advertisements on X.
Musk responded by saying he is against anti-Semitism and against anything “promoting hatred and conflict,” reiterating his previous statements that X does not promote hate speech.
Netanyahu had previously met with Musk in California on September 18, urging him to strike a balance between protecting freedom of expression and combating hate speech. This came after weeks of controversy over anti-Semitic content on the X platform.
During that visit, around 200 people protested against the efforts of the right-wing Israeli government to limit the powers of Israeli courts, gathering outside the Tesla factory in California where the meeting was taking place.
Musk stated that X should be a platform for people to express diverse viewpoints, but the company would limit the dissemination of certain posts that might violate its policies, describing this approach as “freedom of expression, not freedom of reach.”
